Translating the World
by ScorplinginTraining
Summary: "Don't you think there's enough culpability to go around?" Sometimes it takes the smartest person in the room to make you see reason.
1. Chapter 1

**TRANSLATING THE WORLD**

 **AN: Here's my contribution to today's Waige therapy fics. It can stand alone or I can continue. Thoughts?**

It took about thirty-six hours, dozens of text messages and six phone calls of varying lengths from four different people showing their support. Plus, it cost her five glasses of the expensive chardonnay she was saving for a special occasion, two long crying jags in the shower, one pint of chunky monkey and a completely unrealistic and sappy romantic novel to calm down enough to think rationally again. But she got there. From that point, it took the smartest person she knew to nudge her into taking action.

Her stoic son hadn't cracked a smile since they'd stormed out of the garage on Friday night. Well, more like she stormed and he was dragged along in the undercurrents. He hadn't said much either, but she knew his whole world had been upended. If she thought about it too much, she wanted to break something. Or cry again. Ralph had been a bit more affectionate than usual and had stuck close to her side all day Saturday being helpful, but quiet.

It was the silence that concerned her most and what made her ask him on Sunday morning over his favorite breakfast, "Hey, sweetheart. Are you doing okay with all this? Do you need to talk about it or anything?"

He chewed thoughtfully for a few minutes, then swallowed his bite of pancakes and chased it with a gulp of milk. "I'm okay physically, of course. But I'm… Scared. And also sad."

Paige squeezed his hand, her heart turning over. She had been so self-absorbed and hurt at first she hadn't been in any shape to address Ralph's worries. Her long talk with Toby the night before helped and now she felt like she could focus her attention on her boy and getting him through this situation. "You know I'm never going anywhere. My new job with Mr. Elia is likely to be a lot more safe and secure. I won't even have to leave town as much. And I've heard from everyone at… Well, all our friends at my old job and they have assured me they will stay in contact with you and you can call them anytime you need them or just want to see them or talk. It's going to be okay, I promise."

"Well, everyone except Walter, right?"

"Sweetie, I'm so sorry. I can't control…" It infuriated her all over again just thinking about him and how his latest idiocy effected Ralph.

"No. I mean you've heard from everyone at Scorpion except Walter. We don't know if he's okay. No one does. I've asked."

Paige was a little taken aback. Was Ralph actually concerned for _Walter_? Walter who fired her? Dismissed her? Walter who was the instigator of all this devastation? But she tempered her tone and asked, "He wanted us to go. You know that, right? He got what he wanted and he's fine."

Ralph blinked at her for a few seconds before answering softly. "But Mom, he didn't get what he wanted. And everyone is so mad at him, no one stuck around to make sure he's fine. He could be hanging off the side of a cliff right now and no one would know. When we left Scorpion, we took all his friends… anyone that could check on him is 'on our side'. I've heard from everybody too. And they are all being really nice to me and about you. But without exception, everyone is very angry at Walter. I'm afraid he's going to think no one cares about him anymore. And it wasn't _all_ his fault. Don't you think there's enough culpability to go around? He was hurt and everyone lied to him and made him feel stupid and humiliated. No one would explain."

She did _not_ want to feel compassion. Not for Walter. Staying mad was easier. Blaming everything on him was less painful. But a part of her knew her son was telling the truth. Dealing in facts because that's how a genius mind works. One of the many things she'd learned about her son from Walter.

While Ralph cleared the table and she put the dishes in the dishwasher, thoughts kept rolling over and over in her mind. He had to feel so betrayed. But he'd pushed her away. He said he loved her and she knew from his empathy toward Cabe he really meant it. But Toby told her not to say anything because of this very scenario. This was all Walter's stupid fault. Him and his low EQ. But he hadn't lied. Was she really entirely blameless? Now he had no one to lean on or learn from. But he dismissed her and told her to leave. Said he didn't need her anymore.

But he did.

And instead of trying to reason with him, she was shocked and hurt and angry and she'd lashed out. Left him and the only place Ralph had ever completely fit in. She hadn't tried to fight for it. And no one tried to understand Walter or explain anything to him. Who was empathizing with him now? Hadn't he pushed people he loved out the door just like Cabe did? After everything that happened the one thing she now knew without doubt was Walter loved her. And Ralph.

"Ralph, honey, have you been in contact with Walter at all since everything happened?" Paige asked, trying not to sound concerned.

"He sent a message to me before he talked to you on Friday. He told me he would always be my friend no matter what. I haven't heard anything since even though I tried to contact him with all my devices and by a number of different methods. Do you think he's alright?"

She could tell her son was truly worried. And it was causing dread to fill the pit of her stomach. Walter must feel so alone. He promised he wouldn't do anything crazy. But that was before. When he thought he was important to her and to Ralph and to the rest of the team. But she left and everyone sided with her.

"You know what? I left the garage in such a hurry Friday. I wasn't thinking too clearly. A lot of my things are still there. Important things. Happy told me she would bring them to me, but I think I'll go by there and pick them up myself. I'll be back in a little bit, okay?" Without thinking too much about her motives, Paige grabbed her purse and headed for the door. She tossed, "Lock the door behind me. I'll be back soon," over her shoulder as she dashed out into the hallway without looking back.


	2. Chapter 2

**TRANSLATING THE WORLD**

 **CHAPTER 2**

 **AN: After all we've been through I think they OWE us a really hot Waige make out scene when they _finally_ get together, just sayin'. I know things won't be resolved this quickly on the show, but I decided to go down this road anyway. I just wanted to make the battered, shipwrecked Waige fans feel a bit better. **

**Please take the time to review if you like a story. Not just mine. Everyone's. Writers need positive feedback.**

 **OXOXOXOXOXO**

Her apprehension only grew as she barreled down the painfully familiar streets on her way to the garage. What if Walter had done something stupid? Well, something _else_ stupid.

Convinced he was hanging onto life by a thread, Paige was strangely let down when she burst through the door and found him calmly stacking items on the conference table. When she noticed whose belongings he was collecting into boxes and neat piles, her ire returned full force and her blood pressure soared. There was the geranium Ralph had potted for her Mother's Day gift two years before. Her sweater she kept for chilly mornings was casually thrown in a heap beside the silk flower-topped pens she always used to sign documents. Dishes, clothes, knick-knacks, all the tangible evidence she'd spent the better part of three years in the place was accumulated on that table, huddling forlornly like an unwanted child.

Hot tears stung her eyes. He didn't even have the courtesy to look up at her caustic, biting words, "Wow. I see you can't wait to get rid of any trace of me."

"What are you doing here?" was his only reply. He said it in a quiet monotone. Emotionless as an android, of course.

Sarcasm oozing thickly from every syllable, she answered, "I'm stupid and masochistic, I guess." When that got no response, she added, "My son. He was concerned about you. Hadn't heard from you. He's been trying to contact you for two days. He thought you might have driven off a cliff somewhere or something. He didn't realize you fired him too. I'll go. You can have a bonfire with all my stuff. I don't think I ever want to see any of it again."

At that, Walter's eyes finally met hers. They were anguished, red rimmed and lids swollen. He looked like he'd lost his best friend. But he put his chin up stubbornly and said, "It wasn't my intention to give Ralph that impression. I had to turn off all my devices. I was getting bombarded with irate… Well, you can imagine. Toby's been blowing up my phone with accusations since he and Happy took off. Sly is a little more subtle, but the censure is still there. I keep getting messages of all kinds from him. I found I wasn't… in the frame of mind to hear any of it, so I shut everything down before Cabe or Happy could chime in."

Paige would have felt some satisfaction in the responses of her friends if Walter didn't look so completely devastated. Instead her heart squeezed in frustrating sympathy. And after a few uncomfortable moments of staring at one another, he turned back toward the table even though his arms were crossed tightly against his chest and he wasn't rummaging around in her detritus anymore. "And I didn't _fire_ anyone," he argued petulantly, "I don't see it. Why is everyone so mad? You don't… care about me like I... You're always complaining about being surrounded by geniuses. I-I thought you would welcome a different opportunity. I thought it was a good solution. For-for…both of us."

"Always complaining?! Where do you get that?" Paige sneered.

Spinning around to face her again, he recounted, "You called us black mold that creeps into your life. You begged Cabe not to leave you alone with us. You told Happy we make you feel stupid all the time and you said you didn't want Ralph raised by four lunatics. You even told Ava's father you feel inadequate multiple times a day. That's just what you've said recently. I don't understand. I may still be terrible at gauging emotions, so it's not just that you appear frustrated with us a lot. You said those things flat out. If we… if _I_ drive you so crazy and you don't have… feelings for me, I don't get why you would want to stay here. Why would you be upset?"

The worst of her fury was abruptly doused by a sudden onslaught of guilt. She really had made those remarks and she hadn't given a thought about how they would sound to Walter or the others. It still didn't excuse what he did, but it made it slightly more understandable. His genuine confusion worked to extinguish what was left of her anger. It left intense grief in its place. It appeared they had both made such a mess of everything.

"Walter, let me try to help you understand one more time if I can. This was never just a job to me. I care a lot about all of you. You've all been like family to me and to Ralph. Like a home. A safe place. I've worked my heart and soul out here and shared some things with you guys no one else knows. I think I've done some good here too. And just because I express some negative emotions sometimes, doesn't mean I wasn't happy to be a part of this team. I thought you were simply being childish. It didn't seem like you were trying to help me find a better situation. It felt more like you wanted to be rid of me, because you were upset."

"I am upset. And I do want to be rid of you," Walter stated bluntly, causing Paige to gasp and stare at him open-mouthed, temperature rising again as he continued. "You betrayed me. You were deceptive. You kept the truth from me for months. The last few weeks, you let me believe… we-we could be… and all the time you _knew_. I can't. It's too much. You can't expect me to look at you every day knowing you _know_ , and you d-don't… You never wanted…" His voice trailed off, he looked away scowling and clenching his jaw.

"Oh, no you don't! Don't you _dare_ go there!" Paige laughed derisively. She paced toward him and jabbed him in the chest with an agitated finger, "For the record, Toby told me not to say anything! And who says I never wanted us to be together? I gave you chance after chance for over a year. You jerked me around. Kept making me think we were getting somewhere only to yank the rug out from under me. I finally gave up. Moved on. You're about a year too late! What did you want me to do?"

Glaring down at her, he shoved her offending hand away from him and ground out, "You _know_ sorting through emotions is hard for me! You could have _tried_ to understand that. It's obvious you didn't feel… this. You've never felt like _this_! This is huge and ugly and it doesn't leave you alone. You can't stop it that easily. If you felt anything toward me at all, it had to be a weak attraction of some sort. It's impossible. It-it couldn't have been… You never love-loved me."

"THE _HELL_ I DON'T!" Paige yelled in his face.

One minute the two of them stood there stunned and seething and the next his lips were firmly on hers.


End file.
